Effect of thickness on the sealing ability of some root canal sealers

A fluid transport model study was used to evaluate the sealing ability of five root canal sealers, AH 26, Sealapex, Ketac Endo, Roth, and Kerr EWT, and a dental bonding agent at thicknesses of 0.05 mm (thin layer) and 0.3 mm (thick layer) with 270 standard human root sections obturated with sealer combined with standard gutta-percha cylinders. AH26 and Sealapex sealed more tightly in thick layers, whereas Ketac Endo, Johnson and Johnson Bonding Agent, Roth, and Kerr EWT sealed more tightly in thin layers. In thin layers J&J Bonding sealed more tightly than any other sealer tested. In thick layers AH 26 and Sealapex sealed more tightly than Ketac Endo and J&J Bonding Agent, and these sealed more tightly than Roth and Kerr EWT. These findings indicate that the thickness of the sealer layer significantly influences the sealing of a root canal filling and that the influence of thickness varies depending on the type of sealer.